Most Expensive Dice

Dice have come in many different shapes and sizes over the year, particularly those used in war games and the role-playing games that followed them. From the gold-plated six-sided die to the colossal and somewhat awkward 100-sided die, there have always been special dice for gaming enthusiasts to drool over.

The smallest and most expensive die for sale

Iriso Seimitsu, a Japanese company, has created exactly that. Smaller than a pencil lead (as shown), these dice make up for their diminutive size with an enormous 100,275 yen (around $880) price tag. Each of these expensive dice is made of 0.00016 grams of brass. The six sides of each die measure in at 0.3 mm each, with 0.05 mm pips. Even with the latest micromachine technology, these dice take nine hours each to produce.

It’s made of meteors!

The second most expensive dice for sale are offered by Crystal Caste, a company specialized in dice made from precious materials. Their 16mm d20 Meteorite Dwarven Stones are, as their title suggests, twenty-sided dice made of meteorite. Despite the title, though, it’s doubtful that dwarves were actually involved in the making of these dice.

The Meteorite Dwarven Stones can be ordered for $200 through Crystal Caste’s website. The most expensive die in the world may be ordered, with an accompanying case, through Nippon Style, if you know Japanese.

The Roman glass gaming die

The most expensive die in the world, however, is far older than either of those. A Roman glass die from the 2nd Century C.E., this die was discovered in Egypt in the 1920s. The discoverer passed the die on to his son, who became a professor of fine arts in Maryland. He must have been strapped for cash, because the die ended up in a Christie’s auction in 2003.

The die is just over 2 inches wide and deep blue-green in color. Each side is engraved with a different symbol. I’m no expert on the subject, but the symbols on the dice look more Greek than Roman to me.

While several such dice made of various materials have been discovered, scholars have not yet figured out what game they were used for. Maybe Romans played their own version of Dungeons & Dragons. Probably not.

The lot sold for just under $18,000, making this historic polyhedron the most expensive die in the world.